Key to start talks

T o solve the impasse in bilateral relations, Kazuhiko Togo, director of the Institute for World Affairs at Kyoto Sangyo University, said that although Tokyo has yet to admit the existence of the territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, the two nations should start talks first.

However, Chen Jian, former undersecretary-general of the United Nations and former Chinese ambassador to Japan, said that admitting the existence of the Diaoyu Islands dispute will be the basis of a summit between the two nations.

He said Japan should respect the spirit of talks between then-Chinese premier Zhou Enlai and then-Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka in 1972, during which the two sides reached an understanding on the Diaoyu Islands issue and lead to the normalization of the countries' relations later that year.

"Since tensions flared up over the Diaoyu Islands, China has followed the spirit of the talks, which agreed to leave the Diaoyu Islands issue to later generations, and did not take countermeasures."

"If Japan denies the existence of the mutual understanding, China will have to take actions," Chen said.